Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’ gets 7.5 minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival

Sep 01, 2023

Washington DC [US], September 1 : Filmmaker Michael Mann’s biopic film ‘Ferrari’ on Thursday received a 7.5-minute-long standing ovation after its screening at the Venice Film Festival, reported Deadline, a US-based media outlet.
The film was the primetime premiere screening  on the Lido, with stars Adam Driver, Patrick Dempsey, and Daniela Piperno joining Mann on the red carpet and inside the Palazzo del Cinema.
The biopic of racing mogul Enzo Ferrari stars Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley.
The film’s subject matter is near and dear to Italians’ hearts, telling a story beginning in the summer of 1957 with ex-racer Enzo Ferrari (Driver) in crisis. Bankruptcy threatens the factory he and his wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), built from nothing 10 years earlier. Their volatile marriage has been battered by the loss of their son a year earlier, and Ferrari struggles to acknowledge his son with Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley). Meanwhile, his drivers’ passion to win pushes them to the edge as they launch into the treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy, the Mille Miglia, as per Deadline.
Driver replaced Hugh Jackman in the title role while Cruz will play Enzo's wife Laura. 'Big Little Lies' star Woodley will be playing the mistress Lina Lardi.
Ferrari received a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement this month, allowing its stars to promote it on the festival circuit, which also includes a closing-night slot at the New York Film Festival in mid-October, reported Deadline.
The film has been in talks for the past two decades. Previously it faced uncertainty due to the precarious financial position of STX, the U.S. studio behind the project.